My little Dream Catcher...

The other day when I was day dreaming, staring into a specific space of my room, my daze was broken with the sight of my little, old, pink dream catcher hanging on my curtain rail.

It’s one of those things that seems to have always been in my room- wherever I’ve lived it has been there. This caused me to start reminiscing over when I received this little dream catcher, where I got it from, who gave it to me and what did it mean to me? 

I was given this dream catcher as a gift one summer, I clearly remember opening a little brown paper bag revealing this beautiful decoration. I was about 6 when my Grandma gave this gift to me, she had bought it in a Spanish Market near to where she lived in Spain. 

I vividly remember hanging it in my room and telling everyone that entered  ‘It’s magic, it stops you having bad dreams and instead you have good ones.’ It was fascinating to little 6 year old me.

As I got older It seems to have followed me around, when I’ve moved so has the dream catcher-overtime I have forgotten ‘the magic/spiritual’ side to it, it became ‘just a decoration’ this is due to the loss of my wild, young imagination. Age makes you become a realist; magic and dreams merely become stories.

When my daydream was broken by this dream catcher I remembered what this really meant to me: When I was 6 it meant magic, protection and good dreams- I honestly believed that it got rid of all my bad dreams and negativity, obviously this is all psychological but at the time I didn’t know this!

Now at the age of almost 17 (just a couple of months off) It hangs in my room as a reminder- a reminder of several significant things.

A reminder of my Grandma- Now my Grandma is no longer with us, this dream catcher (that has and will always be with me) is a constant reminder that my Grandma will always with me at heart and also a reminder that she always wanted to support me and my dreams.

A reminder of my dreams and positivity- When I see this dream catcher it reminds me that I have control of making my dreams happen (to a certain extent) and bringing as much positivity into my life as possible, kind of like the dream catcher.

Finally, it is a reminder that I should believe in myself but also in the things that mean a lot to me- it reminds me of this because of how I use to have such faith in this little dream catcher and to be honest a little part of me still does.

When I remember the story of this little dream catcher, all my dreams are good ones and a smile is brought to my face!

Thank you Grandma for this beautiful gift that will always stay close to my bed side.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my little dream catcher and the story behind it! I will be back soon with another post.

Let me explain...

Hello everyone I hope you’re all doing well…

So lets face it, for a while now I’ve been doing less and less on my blog and I’ve noticed that I’ve started falling out of love with it- I don’t have the same enthusiasm for it anymore and I’m just not as happy with the content as I would like to be!

I barely have an excuse for not posting on my blog, but all I can say is I have been juggling lots of different things at once at the moment and sometimes I struggle to manage my time and have a good balance. instead I become overwhelmed and then I end up avoiding the things that I was meant to do.

So what am I going to do about this?

I’m going to start posting on my blog every week or even more if I can as I feel like this will help me to get back into a routine with my blogging.

I’m also going to start planing my posts and putting more time and effort into them, I will only post them if I am completely happy with them. 

I want to post more of my own photography and pictures, I use to do this all the time however I have found myself doing it less and less recently, I feel like posting my own photography in my posts makes it more personal and readable.

Finally I want to concentrate on growing my readers by interacting with more bloggers on social media- I am already in a few blogger groups and I want to start being more active in them!

I hope you guys are still around and ready for lots of new posts as I sure am! 

Writing blog posts use to be an escape and a way of expressing myself but unfortunately over time it became a chore..I thought I would explain this to you guys and just let you know that I am honestly going to change this.

Today I have just had a chilled day tidying my room, relaxing in the bath and chilling with chad, including going on a nice walk (we love walks) 

Here's a few photo's of my tidy room! As tidy as it gets with all my stuff in it!

That's all for now and I will 100% be back with another post soon!

It's okay to feel lost...

This is just one of those blog posts that I happen to be writing at a time when I've been off work ill and I've just had a horrible argument with my mum, I found no comfort from my phone so I have turned to writing a good old heart felt blog post.

**BE WARNED THIS MAY BE LONG & CHATTY* I WILL ADD PHOTO'S TO MAKE IT MORE INTERESTING!

When I left school and started my apprenticeship I guess I just naively assumed that I would finish my apprenticeship, find a job within the council and enjoy it for at least a good few years! Wrong.

Don't get me wrong there are some great parts of my apprenticeship: I've gained so much great experience, people skills and great knowledge and I'm sure I will continue to do so throughout the next 6 months... But, of course there's a but, I have recently found myself in a huge blur when it comes to work: I get up in the mornings, get my bus, walk to work, work in between watching the time pass, sometimes slowly and sometimes not, I finish work and then I look forward to getting to the gym so I can sooth my brain from hours of sitting in an office...

That's my problem, I thought an office job could be for me- answering phones, sending emails, doing paperwork (lots of it) and the list goes on.. but I now feel as though I'm thinking of the office as a prison that I want to escape, a luxurious prison with a kettle, a fridge and comfy chairs but that's besides the point! My creative side isn't quite being fulfilled in the way I want it to be and that is what's making me feel lost.

Although I may now have a plan (I'm not going to share it with you just yet)  I still feel slightly apprehensive of what the future holds for me, the unknown and of simply not knowing what I will be doing in 6 months time- but I guess that's the beauty of life; it's like a story book, things can change so drastically in one chapter from the next and I guess what I'm trying to say is it's okay to feel lost, to be scared about the future and to be reluctant to taking a leap of faith!

Out of all the great things that have come from my apprenticeship, The best thing is the direction it has given me, by direction I mean how it has made it clear that I don't currently want to have an office job and instead I want to do something that allows me to be creative, on my feet and something that allows me to experience a variety of different surroundings!

Soon I am starting a lovely little weekend job in a photography studio called Tiny Feet Photography (you should have a look it's amazing!) as an assistant and I cannot wait to work in such a creative and colourful studio- engaging with lots of different people and families! I really am excited to have the amazing opportunity to have an insight to another career, one of which I am very interested in and even better It's something completely different to what I've been doing and its definitely not office based!

My advice to myself and anyone else who's feeling lost or unsure of what they want to do is: 

• Don't be afraid to take opportunities- What have you got to lose?
•  Do/aim for something that makes you happy and that you enjoy
• If you are always time watching or wishing time away then you should reassess what you're doing! 
• Remember- You don't need to have your whole life planned out, sometimes the unexpected things are the best! 

I will keep you all updated on my new weekend job, how I'm feeling about the future and also my current apprenticeship!

This has turned out to be a long stream of thoughts but I guess thats what a blog is all about! Hopefully my next post is a little more interesting and a little easier to follow- but for now Goodbye x

WHAT A YEAR!

I can't quite get my head around the fact that the last day of 2016 has been and gone, how crazy!?

When I think of 2016 as a year my brain seems to conjure up a complete blur of things, experiences and emotions that have taken place throughout the year.

 For me this all comes across as such a blur as 2016 feels like several years have passed rather than just one- simply because of how significantly my day to day life has changed:  how I have developed and changed as a person, how my surroundings have dramatically changed and also how I occupy my spare time differently, I've also visited and explored so many different places over the last year which I have absolutely loved and it just makes me want to travel more!

The biggest change

Obviously It is completely normal and part of life to experience changes throughout a year, however this year really has tested me and pushed me right out of my comfort zone and I am so grateful for it!

I would say the biggest change that I have gone through in 2016 was leaving school and practically entering the working world by starting an apprenticeship at the council! When I started considering my post 16 options in year 11 I did not imagine that I would be sat at my own desk, in a fully functioning office, with a job to do -as staying at school was my plan.

Trusting my gut and taking a leap of faith was definitely a giant step forward for me at this time as throughout year 11 I definitely struggled with anxiety and self confidence... but little did I know that I would develop so much through doing the apprenticeship!

 Yes this was me on my first day of my apprenticeship- why so serious? haha

Some of the adventures

In 2016 I visited quite a few new places:

Camber/Hastings 

This holiday sticks vibrantly in my mind as it was in the middle of when I was revising for my exams, I took my revision and did a little bit each day however I definitely allowed myself t relax and did lots of photography!

Volendam/Holland

I honestly had no idea what to expect from this holiday as I had never been to Holland or anywhere like it. I loved this holiday and everything about Holland but in particular Volendam- I feel like I could easily have stayed there- I love their ways of life; almost everyone travels by bikes, everyone was so friendly and also the town is so calm and beautiful- full of colour, lots of boats and happiness!

If you want to see more of my Volendam/Holland holiday then go over to my youtube channel as I daily vlogged whilst I was there, I'll link it HERE

Majorca!

Unfortunately when I was in Majorca I didn't take a lot of photos or vlog (I did one vlog I'll link it HERE) but although I didn't really document this holiday it was a really nice holiday- the weather was insane and the place we stayed in was beautiful! We went to some beautiful beaches, jumped of some big rocks and went to an awesome waterpark! I would definitely like to go back!

Camp de Marr was definitely my favourite place in Majorca and it has a lovely restaurant there!

Blackpool 

Most recently I went to blackpool for the first time, with my dad, Shona, Morgan and Liam! We went for a long weekend which gave us enough time to see some of the main attraction there: including Blackpool tower, the illuminations and a visit to Blackpool dungeons. I managed to vlog this holiday and I will link it HERE for you! I would definitely recommend Blackpool for a fun weekend away!

My firsts!

There have been a few firsts in 2016: 

Mine and Chad's first ever concert! Yes it took us that long to go to one, but typically they're really expensive or really far away etc. so when I saw that Jack Garratt was performing at the Engine Shed I had to get tickets! Not only did we get to go but we were literally right at the front! Me and Chad both love Jack's music and the atmosphere was insane. HERE is the vlog with the concert in.

Starting the gym! I use to be so scared of the thought of starting a gym- I thought everyone would look at me and that I wouldn't know what to do... I was so wrong and I should have started before. Me and Chad now go to the gym about 4 times a week and we love it, it helps me physically and also to wind down mentally. 

Starting youtube!

I was so skeptical about starting youtube at first, but when I trialled it out when I was in Holland- I absolutely loved it! It has definitely become one of my hobbies and It allows me to use some of my creative side. Since starting youtube I have 100% gained more confidence and discovered my love for film making/ being behind and in front of a camera. I was so surprised to reach 100 subscribers, the support means a lot! If you haven't had a look already then I will link my youtube channel HERE

I could go on and on about 2016 and the good and bad parts of it- but I don't want to make this post any longer so I will leave that for another day! I hope each and every one of you has a happy and prosperous 2017, make it a good one.  

Camber Sands- Day 1

Yesterday we arrived at Camber sands, an old little seaside town. After spending our first day at the beach, eating chips and playing on the arcades; because who could resist the 2p machines? I thought I would share just a few photographs and captions of what we have been up to, I have to admit I have only taken a few for today but I will share what I have.

I haven't been to the beach for a while so it was nice to get some fresh sea air today; a bit too much air as it was very windy... but it was still nice to visit the sea.

The beach we visited today was ideal, as it had it's pebbly part and it's soft, sandy part. I've always found it interesting looking at the different stones, pebbles and shells, and every beach visit I find myself trying to find a fossil which never seems to happen!

For a UK beach the water was nice and clear, however it was far too cold to even put our feet in. I find the sea soothing and enjoyable to look at, I think it's the sound of the water lapping...

What's a beach visit without carving your name into the sand, yes I still do this. I also started building a massive sand castle with Liam, before I realised how patient I had to be, dads are definitely in charge of sand castles anyway!

Despite the very windy weather, we were blessed with a lovely blue sky.

Me and a little cutie..

That's all for day 1's photo diary, and I'll hopefully be sharing another one with you tomorrow!

Sunday Strolls and Ice cream!

Recently I have found myself so busy, caught up in revision, working, riding, sorting various things out for school and 6th form, and it has become a rarity that I get to just go out on a walk and just breath! So when Dad asked what I wanted to do today I asked if we could take the dog and go for a walk at Whisby Nature Reserve, so that's where we went!

I wore my new denim pinafore dress with a jumper underneath, along with my new boyfriend style coat and my loafers (big mistake- it was so muddy and I got blisters)  Excuse the picture quality I didn't have my camera!

We went on the second longest walk but it didn't feel long as we were chatting amongst us and just appreciating our surroundings, my brother did say "It's a bit boring walking around here though , there's nothing really to see.." and my response was "Yes but really, there is. Sometimes we just don't appreciate the little things that we are so use to." which is true in many cases! I love the railway bridge at whisby, I like how you can lean right over the railway.

Of course I made Morgan and Liam partake in a sibling selfie, I'm not really sure they wanted to but I made them haha, I am not happy that Morgan is officially taller than me now, although that isn't hard at all with me being 5ft 3.

One of the reasons I love Whisby is the lake, I find it soothing just walking around it and the sound of Ducks and Swans flapping around, is that weird? Probably.

Like I said earlier it was a big mistake wearing my loafers, it was very muddy and because they're new and still quite hard my shoes ere rubbing, so towards the end I had to walk ridiculously slow, behind the rest of my family and to make it even worse I had to keep stopping scraping mud of my shoes with leaves, trust me to pick up a prickly leaf!

                                               Just realised I'm a bit of a poser, Whoops!

   Especially towards the end of our walk when it was getting darker, the lake looked so beautiful

I really liked my outfit today, I think that the denim compliments the material and colour of my coat perfectly! You can find this pinafore (here) and it's in the sale!

After we finished our walk we sat outside and got a nice, warming hot chocolate- we kind of had to as we had bribed Liam with one the whole way round!

Then after our drinks things just got better, dad said he would take us to Daisy Made to get some ice cream, I of course got Chocolate and also Peanut Butter, both of which were delicious! You can't beat Daisy Made's Ice cream in my opinion.

It was so nice to get away from my usual surroundings and get some fresh air around my family, Whisby is definitely a favourite of mine.

What have you been doing this weekend?